Japan emperor should be able share his thoughts, says FM

His prepared messages have been almost identical every time. -AFP

Fri, Oct 23, 2009
AFP

TOKYO - Japan's Emperor Akihito should be able to speak his mind rather than read from a bureaucrat's prepared script when he next opens parliament, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada suggested Friday.

Okada told fellow cabinet ministers at an informal meeting that he wonders "whether we can make efforts to have the wording reflect the emperor's thoughts, even if it's just a little bit."

The 75-year-old opens sessions of the Diet legislature, but his prepared messages have been almost identical every time, Okada told reporters later, acknowledging that Akihito under the constitution must steer clear of politics.

The Chrysanthemum Throne, the world's oldest monarchy, has changed along with the times as Japan has emerged from the aftermath of World War II and US occupation to become Asia's economic powerhouse.

Akihito's father, Hirohito, was once worshipped as a living demigod and only renounced his divinity after Japan's surrender in the war.

The post-war constitution stipulates the emperor is "the symbol of the state" and the unity of the people and shall not be involved in politics.

Under a decades-long custom, the emperor attends the opening ceremonies of parliamentary sessions and delivers a short message prepared for him by the Cabinet Office and approved by the government.

His messages have hardly varied. Emperor Akihito said he hopes parliament "will perform its duty fully and live up to the confidence from the people" at sessions that opened in January and September this year.